County of Hawaii 1996 - 1997 Annual Report: Office of the Prosecuting Attorney

Jay Tsutomu Kimura is the Prosecuting Attorney. He has been associated with the County of Hawaii, Office of the Prosecuting Attorney since 1979. Prior to his taking office in December, 1992, he served as the First Deputy prosecuting Attorney for 11 years, and as a staff deputy for 3 years. Mr. Kimura is a career prosecutor and a graduate of the National College of district Attorneys Executive Prosecutor's course. He is a graduate of the California Western School of Law in San Diego, California, and the University of Hawaii, Manoa. Mr. Kimura is a member of the Hawaii State Bar Association, Hawaii County Bar Association, National College of District Attorneys Alumni Association, American Bar Association, and a past-president of the State-wide Hawaii prosecuting Attorneys Association and a member of the Governor's Committee on Crime.

Ms. Charlene Yoshiko Iboshi, First Deputy, has been with the Prosecutor's Office since October, 1980. Before being appointed the First Deputy in December, 1992, she served as the Senior Deputy in charge of the staff attorneys, and prior to that was the supervising attorney for the Career Criminal Program. Ms. Iboshi was born in Hilo, and graduated from the University of Hawaii in 1973. After receiving her law degree from the University of Puget Sound Law School in 1977, she was a Deputy prosecutor in Seattle, Washington.

The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney is the legal agency responsible for the prosecution of all criminal offenses occurring on the Big Island and represents the people of this community before the District Court, Family Court, Circuit Court, Grand Jury, Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii. The Prosecuting Attorney appoints the necessary staff to carry out these functions.

The Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys also appear in Federal courts, including the United States Supreme Court, to see that Big Island convictions are not overturned. The agency's duty and goal is to seek justice in criminal cases in the County of Hawaii.

In the '96-'97 fiscal year, the office had a total projected operating budget of $4,065,287.00 of which 35.5% or $1,442,710.00 was from Federal and State funds. Despite a 9.1% cut this year and a 13.9% cut the year before to our County and State funds, our office continued an effective prosecution effort. The Career Criminal Prosecution Unit and part of the Victim Assistance Unit were State-funded. A Domestic Violence Unit for Hilo and Puna was funded through a Federal grant, and another Federal grant, The Victims of Crime Act, also funds positions in the Victim Assistance Unit.

Offices are located in Hilo, Kealakekua, and Waimea to serve Big Island residents. The Prosecutor's Office is divided into five units: 1) the Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys' Unit; 2) the Administrative Unit; 3) the Victims Assistance Unit; 4) the Investigative Unit, and 5) the Clerical Support Unit.

The DEPUTY PROSECUTING ATTORNEYS' UNIT is divided into East, West, and North Hawaii teams which handle all criminal cases that occur in their respective districts. The East Hawaii team, with 17 attorneys and support staff, covers the districts of North and South Hilo, Ka'u and Puna. The West Hawaii team, with six attorneys and support staff, covers the districts of North and South Kona. The North Hawaii office with one attorney covers the districts of Hamakua, South Kohala and North Kohala except felony trials. There exists specialized sub-units within the attorneys' unit.

A major specialized unit is the Career Criminal Prosecution Program which is a State-funded project designed to get repeat criminal offenders through the system as quickly as possible with the maximum sanctions available. This unit continues to have a high conviction rate. The Career Criminal program is also charged with handling sex offenders.

Another specialized effort is drug prosecution. Drug prosecution deputies handle major drug cases and advises the police regarding the commercial promotion of marijuana and the increasing problems with cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin and crystal methamphetamine (ice).

The Felony Units has been active this past year. A number of notable trials were conducted on the island including Anthony Felix Torres, Michael Wayne Ortiz, Vernon Gomes/Gordon Wayne K. Kong and Natalie Stephanie Santana, Richard Keokeo Taylor Jr., Dennis D. Shields, Eric Ken Akahoshi, William K. Bal, and Mark Dunse. Several significant appeals were affirmed including Seneca H. Hopps, Christopher Andrew Chandler, Clemente B. Jumila Jr., Tad A. L. Mason and William Kazuo Hirano. This office was also notified of a 70-year minimum term of imprisonment on the conviction of Joseph R. Oneill for murder. The deputies continue to carry heavy trial and appeal caseloads and respond to police inquiries regarding specific cases at all hours of the day or night.

The Screening Unit for East Hawaii is responsible for all screening and charging decisions for East Hawaii cases, including both felony and misdemeanor cases. They also analyze cases for plea negotiations and present appropriate cases to the Grand Jury. The benefit to the County is greater uniformity in charging and faster response to the public. More horizontal prosecution of cases is anticipated due to economic conditions and the inability to hire additional professional staff as a result of budget restrictions.

Forfeitures under the State program continues to be an uncertain source of revenue for the office. Recent case law by the United States Supreme Court has clarified the question of whether a Double Jeopardy Claim can be recognized after administrative forfeiture. The Court decided in favor of allowing forfeitures. The State legislature permanently established the State Forfeiture law and recent staff changes at the Attorney General's Office have improved the efficiency of this program. Funds have been used for law enforcement purposes including crime prevention programs such as the McGruff anti-shoplifting program. State forfeiture funds received in fiscal 96-97 totaled $60,987.28.

The INVESTIGATIVE UNIT provides trial, pre-trial and post-trial investigative assistance to the deputy prosecutors. This unit also maintains a list of fugitives from Hawaii County on the FBI's National Crime Information Center computer system. The unit also works closely with the FBI and the U.S. Marshals Office in returning fugitives nationally or internationally.

The VICTIM/WITNESS ASSISTANCE UNIT attends to the needs of victims and witnesses as they go through the criminal justice system. Restitution, limited crisis counseling, and referrals to other agencies to satisfy victims' needs are part of the many duties assigned to this unit. This unit has also initiated a Kona support group and continues the Hilo group for those affected by murder.

The ADMINISTRATIVE UNIT seeks additional State and Federal funding for specialized programs, and manages the overall operations and budget of the largest legal agency in our County.

The CLERICAL SUPPORT UNIT keeps pace with the word processing and information management needs of the office by extensive use of computer equipment. The clerical support staff is an integral part of successful prosecution.

The office was involved in the Law Enforcement Coalition which is made up of all County Prosecutors, Chiefs of Police, and the State's Attorney General. The coalition successfully lobbied for passage of key pieces of legislation. These included reducing the legal age of waiver from family court for juveniles charged with murder and other serious crimes, public notification of sex offenders, dangerous drug manufacturers and sex assault by law enforcement personnel. Other bills passed that will assist law enforcement include a zero alcohol tolerance for minors, reporting requirement for physicians detecting a DUI patient, and removing the ability to expunge domestic violence convictions.

Active community involvement is a high priority for the office. The office has been active in crime prevention programs targeted at juveniles. Examples include the STEM (Shoplifting Takes Everyone's Money) Program sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with McGruff, the crime fighting dog; a Department of Education pilot project for 5th and 6th graders to teach them about the Family Court system; Operation Keiki ID; and specialized training for the Department of Education and other government agencies.

The office has assisted the Downtown Improvement Association's Community Policing Subcommittee in addressing the pressing crime problems in downtown Hilo; and outreached to the Hilo Community Policing groups, Puna area neighborhood watches and numerous other groups that have sought crime prevention and prosecution assistance. Planning began on a joint

project with the Hawaii County Police Department, Mayor and Council on a community policing conference scheduled for November 1, 1997. Special funding for the Attorney General's Stat Forfeiture funds was acquired by this office for this conference.

New office projects involved operating a Domestic Violence Unit, identifying community groups involved in crime prevention, and further educating community groups and others on the criminal justice process.

The Domestic Violence Project has made significant progress in improving the handling of domestic violence cases in the office, the courts and the community. The program has been assisted by numerous volunteers and continues to reach out to the community by networking with those individuals and agencies dealing with domestic violence issues.

The Prosecutor's Office conducts training for police recruits and reserve officers. The office also provides training opportunities for numerous business, community groups and individuals, including workshops for the Retail Committee of the Chamber of Commerce, the Cattle Ranchers Association, and in-office volunteer programs.

The office has been able to respond to the additional caseload created by the Judiciary adding more court days and calendars to the Family and District Courts, especially in the country districts. In fiscal year 1996-1997, the office received 18,265 referrals from law enforcement agencies and other sources, with an average of 1,522.08 referrals per month.

Significant coordination between the Prosecutor's Office, the Hawaii County Police Department, the Department of Public Safety, retailers, and the Judiciary led to minimum disruption during several public demonstrations over Hawaiian sovereignty. Scarce public resources were maximized to ensure the rights of citizens to express their views and to enforce the law.

The designation of attorneys to specialize in the handling of sex abuse cases has increased the quality of prosecution and interagency cooperation. The office will continue its attention to these difficult cases as we work closely with the Hawaii County Police Department Juvenile Aid Section, the Childrens Advocacy Center, the Child Protective Service, and Sexual Assault Support Service.

The office along with the Hawaii County Police Department, Hilo Hospital, YWCA Sexual Assault Support Service, Mayor's Committee on the Status of Women, County Council and other community groups and individuals co-sponsored the East Hawaii Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners program in 1995 which provided specialized training to enable nurses to perform forensic examinations of sex assault victims. The training was held in response to a lack of examiners. The training was attended by nurses, police officers, and sexual assault victim advocates from throughout the island and has improved the quality of rape exams. Nurses continue to improve their skills in this area.

Domestic and family violence in the County of Hawaii continued to be a severe and increasing problem. The Office of the Prosecuting Attorney has recognized that a key element in the successful handling of domestic violence cases is the expeditious prosecution of perpetrators. Agencies county-wide have also recognized that to break the cycle of violence and successfully solve problems related to domestic violence, efforts must be coordinated and information shared. This has resulted in the establishment of the Domestic Violence Unit within the Prosecutor's Office, as well as the establishment of a county-wide Domestic Violence Interagency Team (DVIAT).

The Domestic Violence Unit was established through funding provided by a Federal/State grant in 1993. This unit's goal is to decrease and to ultimately end domestic violence within our families and within the community in general. This is being accomplished through effective and efficient prosecution, and by taking a community response approach to the problem of domestic violence through the Domestic Violence Interagency Team (DVIAT).

DVIAT meets monthly and is comprised of over forty government and non-profit agencies, community organizations and interested citizens. DVIAT's mission is to prevent and reduce family and domestic violence in Hawaii County, make victims safer and improve victim services.

In an effort to continue to address the problem of domestic violence in the County of Hawaii, the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney applied for and received a grant to deal with cases of child physical and sexual abuse. The grant's goal, to "better protect children and hold offenders

accountable by improving the prosecution and interagency response to violence against children, including sexual assault and physical abuse", further extends the concepts of protection for the community that was first addressed by the domestic violence project.

One of the primary objectives of this grant is to develop a county-wide protocol between police, prosecutors, child protective workers, schools, family court, guardian ad litems and substance abuse, mental health and other service providers to better process child physical abuse cases. Interagency coordination is essential for effective prosecution.

It is the hope of the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney that coordinated community responses along with education and public awareness will prevent violence, in general, and make our communities safer not only for our children but for all of us.